FINAL CUT: Princeton High baseball player John Reid follows through on a swing in a game this spring. Senior outfielder Reid hit .333 this season with 10 RBIs to help PHS post a final record of 10-15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Even though the Princeton High baseball team didn’t culminate its season with an appearance in the state tournament, it still had plenty to play for in the last week of action.

Bringing an 8-15 record into its final two games, PHS was determined to hit the 10-victory mark, something the program had not achieved under current head coach Dave Roberts in his seven seasons at the helm of the program.

With its bats booming, the Little Tigers achieved that goal, beating sectional quarterfinalist Nottingham 13-3 and then pulling away from Trenton 11-2 in its season finale.

Head coach Roberts, for his part, was thrilled to see his squad end on a high note.

“We were all very excited to win that game; to beat them by 10 was really nice,” said Roberts, referring to the victory over Nottingham.

“Against Trenton, the guys did a great job of wearing down their No. 1 pitcher and getting to their bullpen.”

For Roberts and his players, getting that 10th win was sweet. “We had gotten to nine and nine the last two years,” said Roberts. “As a team, no doubt getting to 10 wins was the biggest positive.”

Another big positive this spring was PHS’s productivity with the bat, as it posted a team batting average of .339 and averaging 5.7 runs a game. Freshman Paul Cooke led the hit parade for the Little Tigers, pacing the team in batting (.442) and RBIs (16). Junior Hayden Reyes batted .420 and classmate Joaquin Hernandez-Burt hit .403 with a team-best 12 doubles. Senior Steve Majeski hit .362 with senior John Reid and junior Matt Lambert both coming in at .333, junior Colin Taylor batting .311, and senior Ben Danis finishing at .306.

“The offensive performance was terrific; I think the highest team average we have had since I have been here was .270,” said Roberts.

“It was a talented group of kids who worked hard; all we did in March was hit. They were aggressive. They were listening to what we were telling them. We executed a lot of hit and runs; we had a lot of kids who could handle the bat. The offensive production and the infield play were the stories of the season; we had a great infield.”

Another great story of the season was the play of the squad’s seniors, three of whom (Majeski, Ben Grass, and Marcus Henderson) played junior varsity last year.

“The seniors were fantastic; Ben Grass and Marcus Henderson were huge on the mound, they hadn’t played at the varsity level before and they had six wins between the two of them,” said Roberts who got a 4-4 season from Grass with Henderson going 2-5. “Majeski, Reid, and Danis did a phenomenal job with the bat.”

With a good core of players returning, highlighted by a junior group of seven, PHS appears poised to take things to a higher level next season.

“I have been excited about them for a long time; the core three of Reyes, Taylor, and Hernandez-Burt have proven to be stellar,” said Roberts, referring to his junior class.

“You add Matt (Lambert), Tim (Frawley), and Micah (Daley-Harris) to that and Dan Gross should be back. Paul Cooke had a phenomenal year for a freshman with 34 hits; he has a really sweet swing. We took a huge step forward, it was good stuff from everyone. I think everybody who is returning left excited; wishing they could start next season a day later.”